Loyalty Isn't Bought, It's Earned
by IrishFrenchy
Summary: Just a sad, thoughtful little thing. Please read the A/N, it has to do with me picking up where I left off with my Suits fics. Katrina/Louis


**Author's note: THIS IS IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ. I just have a lot of feelings, okay. I needed to get them out. If you have anything mean or judgmental to say about this, just don't say anything at all and don't read my stuff. I don't need it. I ship Katrina/Louis and much like Donna/Harvey, I don't foresee anything happening between them despite their feelings. They're too close and they work so well together. Their camaraderie gives me hope. I hate Sh****eila so much, on another note. I don't feel like they're right for each other at all. **

**Anyways, it's been so long since I've written Suits stuff and I've been getting SO MANY messages from my lovely followers. Here you go, darlings. Maybe I'll get to work on my AU Suits series again. I'm a way better writer now, so we'll see how it goes. I may go back and rewrite that series, the few stories I've got on here, and then continue on with it. Let me know, loves. xo**

**Also, on a side note, this takes place in between Katrina getting "fired" and Louis going to meet with Harvey in his office in the end of episode 4x10, which had been the finaly of the summer season. I can't wait for winter now. Good god. Imagine if Harvey had been around, instead of Donna? Things might have been so different. PS, I'm sorry this ficlet is so, well, short.**

Katrina was the only one would didn't stab him right in the back. On the contrary, she went through multiple hoops for him. Loyalty was a hard thing to come by, apparently. But she was loyal to him like no one else had been. Not Mike, Jessica, or Harvey. Not even Donna. Everyone had hurt him in the end. Except her. She put her own job on the line, swearing that she'd go where ever he would.

So perhaps it comes as to no surprise that he finds himself standing before her door at her apartment door at six at night, knowing full well that she's out of work by now. What he doesn't know, though, is that she's unpacking her things from the office and readying her resignation for Jessica for tomorrow.

Knocking lightly and taking a deep breath, he decides to keep the part about Mike being a fraud to himself. He wouldn't want to put her in jeopardy any more than he already has in the past. He's off to see Jessica tonight after this. In his hands is a takeaway bag from her favorite local Korean place that they've frequented in the past together. She'd wanted to have dinner and he'd never voiced or even reciprocated his desire to do so. But he wants to now. He wants her to know that she's valued. That she's _loved. _

There's a brief pause in the steps behind the door behind it opens, Katrina's face peeking through the opening. Upon seeing Louis, her eyebrows shoot skyward. "Louis," she says, bewildered more than anything. Closing the door to unlock the chain, she pulls it back open again to let him inside. "What are you doing here? At my place?" she asks, watching him come inside.

"I, um… I wanted to see you… We should talk," he says, a soft grin on my lips despite everything that's been going on as of late. Despite the secrets he's currently harboring. That can't be good for his heart, he muses over in his own thoughts. "I was rude not to answer any of your calls or emails," he begins. "And on top of that, I pulled the 'you're on the other side of the takeover' crap. I feel badly. However, Katrina, I want you to know that I only _did that _to protect you. I came by with some food from your favorite place. I figured maybe we could have one more meal together, no matter what's to come. I was hoping you wouldn't mind. It's a bit short notice, but…"

His voice is suddenly caught in his throat, words trailing off. He's noticed the two brown filing boxes on the coffee table, both open. Her office possessions are sitting in each box. "Jessica fired me," she starts to say, her own words trailing off as well as she finds herself more than a bit choked up. "Looks like we're in the same boat now."

Jaw falling slack, Louis glimpses in her direction. His gaze falls to lower lip, hardly being able to ignore the way it's currently wobbling. "Don't say anything," she starts, finally, a hand rising in some sort of effort to quell the chaos in his mind as well as the comments that are about to come tumbling from his lips. "I did what I did for you, Louis, and I don't regret it. I couldn't. I told you that I was loyal to you. You're the only person I've ever really genuinely enjoyed working for. It's been nice. It's been special, having a real _friend_."

Louis, not knowing what to do with his hands, glances down at the takeaway bag he's holding now. It's as if someone has pulled a rug from beneath his shoes. A shaky sigh is elicited from his lips and he begins shaking his head. He _knew _this could happen, but he never really thought it would.

"I'm sorry," he starts, his brows drawing together as his expression contorts. He realizes then, on some level, that she's more than just a coworker to him. In a lot of ways, they've become like Donna and Harvey. They've a camaraderie between them. It _is _special. And maybe, just maybe, he feels something more for her. It's a lot to take in right then, but he manages a smile never the less. If only for her.

Coming over, he stops in front of her and reaches a hand down to squeeze her own. "Let's just… Let's just have dinner," he tells her, hoping more than anything that she won't ask him to leave. If anything, they need one another right now. He's planning on going to the office, calling Harvey on every little thing he's done. Even Donna. But right now, right now this is about them. It's about mending things and being there for one another. That's what they've always been good at. Being there when no one else was. It's how their quirky, almost cute relationship works.

_They're friends. That's what friends do._


End file.
